Will launch Anna Bhagya scheme when we get required quantity of rice: CM Siddaramaiah

The distribution of 10 kg of rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme will begin as soon as the State gets the required quantity of rice, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said.

The distribution of 10 kg of rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme will begin as soon as the State gets the required quantity of rice, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said.

Speaking to presspersons in Hassan on June 27, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the State required 2.29 lakh metric tonnes of rice a month to implement the scheme, one of the five guarantees assured by the Congress during the election campaign. “The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has sufficient stock to supply us with the required quantity of rice. It had agreed to provide us with rice and conveyed the same in writing. However, they changed their stand later. The Central government is denying rice to poor people,” he said.

The CM said the State government had been making honest efforts to procure the required amount of rice. “We contacted the Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments. We are not getting the required quantity. We have called for quotations from NCCF, NAFED and other agencies. We will take a decision in the next cabinet meeting,” he said.

Reacting to former CM B.S. Yediyurappa’s statement that the BJP would begin protests on July 1 if the State government failed to distribute 10 kg of rice, Mr. Siddaramaiah said BJP leaders had no moral right to stage protests, alleging that they did not fulfil the promises they had made in their manifesto. “In the previous elections, the BJP had made 600 assurances. Did the BJP fulfil them?” he asked.

Instead of staging protests, he said, the BJP leaders should approach the Central government and get us rice supplied from the FCI. “We have made five promises and will definitely fulfil them,” he added.

Answering a question, the CM said the State government would probe the alleged corruption of the BJP regime. During the BJP rule, four medical colleges were constructed, and there were allegations of corruption in the project. There had also been an allegation of 40% commission during their rule as well as mismanagement of funds while purchasing essential items during the COVID pandemic.

“We will probe all these allegations, including the Bitcoin scam and the deaths of people due to the non-availability of oxygen in Chamarajanagar. The then Health Minister K. Sudhakar had misled the public about the number of deaths in the incident,” he said.